La. Admin. Code tit. 48 § V-11503

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section V-11503 - Legitimation

A. Except as herein provided in these rules and regulations, a legitimation of an illegitimate child pursuant to Article 198 of the Louisiana Civil Code may result in the sealing of the registrant's original certificate of birth and the issuance of a new certificate of birth in the new name of the registrant wherein the registrant's surname shall be that of his father, only if the provisions of R.S. 40:46 have been met along with payment of the required fee(s) as set forth in R. S. 40:40.

1. As provided in R.S. 40:46 A, a new certificate may be issued only if both parents had been free of any impediments and could have married each other at the time of the child's conception, in accordance with the laws of Louisiana in existence at the time of the child's conception.

2. In circumstances wherein both parents had been free to marry each other and who later do marry but without a formal act of legitimation, and due to the death of one or both parents only informal acknowledgment material is available, a court order will be required before a new certificate may be issued, since neither the state registrar nor the personnel under his supervision in the Vital Records Registry is empowered to adjudicate such a status determination when only informal means of acknowledgment are available.

3. In circumstances where the parents were not free to marry each other at the time of the subject child's conception, and where the parents have later married, if a new certificate is desired, an adoption procedure is recommended. In the alternative, a mandamus proceeding may be brought against the state registrar at the domicile of the Vital Records Registry in an effort to compel the issuance of a new certificate.

B. In circumstances involving an Act of Legitimation pursuant to Article 200 of the Louisiana Civil Code wherein the parents had no impediments to their marriage to each other and where neither parent had any legitimate descendants at the time of the conception and/or legitimation of the subject child by an Act of Legitimation (i.e., the said parents do not later marry), and where the child's original certificate of birth has been registered in accordance with R.S. 40:34 (1) (a) in the surname the same as the mother's maiden surname, nd no name of the father appears on the certificate, the said original certificate birth may be altered in the manner and respects as follows:

1. If only the child's mother "legitimates" the child in accordance with Article 200 of the Louisiana Civil Code, the original certificate will be stamped altered with the date of the alteration, along with an inscription of the words "Act of Legitimation by Mother" together with its date on the face of the original certificate. In such case no further alteration may be made. The Vital Records Registry, however, will retain a certified copy of the "Act of Legitimation" in its archives.

2. In circumstances wherein the father along has executed an "Act of Legitimation," the word altered and the date of the same will be stamped and inscribed on the face of the original certificate, along with the words "Act of Legitimation by Father" and the date of same. The original certificate will be further amended by inserting the father's name, place of birth, in the standard spaces provided for this information on the original certificate. The child's surname will be "lined out" and the father's surname inscribed above it.

3. In circumstances where both parents jointly execute an "Act of Legitimation," the word altered will be stamped along with the date of the alteration, and the words "Act of Legitimation by Father and Mother" will be inscribed on the face of the original certificate. In addition, the father's name, etc., will be added and the child's surname changed to that of the father, in similar fashion as above described.

4. In each of the above mentioned circumstances pertaining to an "Act of Legitimation," the provisions of R.S. 9:391 applies, i.e., there must have been no legal impediments to the marriage of the father and mother in existence at the time of the conception of the child.

C. In circumstances where a subject child's original certificate of birth on its face reflects that the child has a legitimate status, i.e., in instances where the child's birth was registered in the surname of the legal husband of the child's mother at the time of conception, and where the legal husband's name appears on the said original certificate as legal father of the child, a court order will be required to determine the child's status before any alteration will be made. Since the child in such an instance appears to have a legitimate status, it follows that Article 198 of the Louisiana Civil Code does not apply, since it applies only to illegitimate children. Like-wise, Article 200 of the Louisiana Civil Code would not apply, since there was an impediment to the marriage between the alleged biological father and the child's mother at the time of the child's conception. Thus where the biological parents have later married each other, it is again recommended that the subject child be adopted, especially if a new certificate is desired.

La. Admin. Code tit. 48, § V-11503

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Resources, Office of Preventive and Public Health Services, LR 13:246 (April 1987).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 9:391, R.S. 43:33, and La. Civ. Code, Art 198,200.